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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. wax — to grow
  6. game — wild animals
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. mate — a friend
  11. content — happy
  12. mate — a partner
  13. game — a match
  14. content — the amount
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a great time
  19. saw — the tool
  20. field — a subject
  21. mate — to breed
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. field — farmland

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com